Saturday, February 22, 2014

When I first visited Gongga Shan in 1995 it was a fairly remote and untravelled region. As I describe in my long chapter of that first visit, I set off from Kangding and hired a couple of horses and a guide in Laoyulin to take me on a four day trek to the monastery. During all that time I didn't see one other vehicle and no other travellers. In fact, for most of the trip through the Yulongxi valley I didn't see any other people at all, except in the villages or encampments we stayed in each night. Of course everything has changed now. Gongga Shan is a major tourist attraction and the Yulongxi valley now has a road running up and down it carrying a fair bit of traffic - mostly 4WDs like those seen in the picture. There are many more Tibetan houses, many of which have signs outside advertising them as guesthouses. There is even a road over the Tsemi La pass all the way to the village of Tsemi, though this is really only open to serious off road vehicles and motorbikes/tuolaji. Progress is inevitable, and I don't begrudge the locals their chance of making a living from the visitors. Nevertheless, it's a shame that this once peaceful and isolated spot is now just another stop on the tourist itinerary.

Monday, February 03, 2014

About this blog

Dr Joseph Rock was an Austrian-American botanist who explored the Tibetan borderlands of Sichuan and Yunnan in the 1920s and 30s. This is about my travels to revisit the places he described in the National Geographic magazine. Any questions? contact me at beijingweek AT gmail